


a river that winds on forever

by monkkeyslut



Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: 5 Times, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-11-13 03:24:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11175984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monkkeyslut/pseuds/monkkeyslut
Summary: Five times Nina and Matthias are woken up by the other.Based off of @helniks tweet "Modern AU where Nina is pregnant and Matthias fucking dotes on her and goes to the store 45 minutes away for the weird flavor of ice cream"





	a river that winds on forever

**Author's Note:**

  * For [moriuh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/moriuh/gifts), [jamesjoyce](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jamesjoyce/gifts).



> This is for Dicey and Mori, who finished the series and needed some Matthias/Nina. Based off of Mori's tweet about a pregnant Nina. Thanks to Mori for brainstorming some Modern!Dregs jobs. I also tried to keep this kind of close to the books without all the sad shit. Title of the fic is taken from Lord Huron's "Ends of the Earth".
> 
> Hope you ladies enjoy :)

**1.**

The hotel room was nice, but Matthias couldn’t wait to be out of it. Actually, he couldn’t wait to be out of Ketterdam in general, but he didn’t think it would be any time soon. His new job with the Ketterdam Police would be a welcome change, but he still missed his bedroom back home. He missed the summer greens and the winter whites. Ketterdam had neither colour (except in the Barrel, but those colours meant much different things than back home) and instead sat grey and heavy just outside the hotel window. At least next week he would be getting his apartment.

When he woke that morning, the sun had just barely begun to rise. His companion began to rise with it; her long, tangled brown hair fell down her back and hid the smooth expanse of her back. His sleep-addled brain wondered what she was doing. Did she not enjoy last night? Did she have to rush to work?

Pushing himself into a sitting position, Matthias asked, “Everything alright?”

Nina looked over her shoulder at him, eyes wide. “Sorry. Did I wake you?”

“It’s fine,” Matthias shrugged, voice still deep with sleep. “Are you well?”

She blinked at him, green eyes darker in the low light of the room. He’d known her for a little over a month and he still couldn’t get past how beautiful her eyes were. She smiled at him, tugging the sheets more securely around her as she turned to face him. The skin above her breasts had several small marks from his mouth, and he found his eyes drawn to them for several long seconds as he waited for her to speak.

“Sure,” she nodded, but she had that same, odd look on her face that she’d had the night before on their date. They’d spoken of so many things, but she’d gotten quiet after talk of their jobs. Maybe memories of her work--she’d said she worked with men and women suffering from mental health issues--had dampened the mood slightly. “I just have a thing I need to do today.”

“Of course,” he nodded, but he wanted to tug her toward him and pepper her breasts with more kisses. He wanted her to give him a real smile, not the fake one she thought he wouldn’t recognize. “Do you need a ride?”

“In your patrol car?” The idea made her face look paler, somehow. Matthias frowned.

“It’s my only vehicle right now. Is that alright?”

Nina shook her head, brushing her fingers through the snarls and tangles in her hair before she nodded. “Absolutely.” He didn’t think she was telling the truth, but he didn’t know why she would seem apprehensive about it. Maybe because she lived in the Barrel?

“If you would prefer I didn’t, I can call you a taxi.” Matthias, reached out to run a hand over her arm, fingers lingering along the small, silvery lines of stretch marks. She was so beautiful. He would be devastated if he’d done or said something wrong. If this was the last night they would spend together.

Her smile was sheepish, colour rising to her cheeks as she said, “Would you mind? It’s not that I don’t want you driving me home, it’s just.” She stopped, seeming to think to herself before she said. “I don’t think I could handle being in a car with you for ten minutes, let alone twenty. Your hair is all--” she mussed it up more with her fingers, nails scraping against his scalp. “--sexy in the morning, and I _want_ to stay, but if we’re together much longer I think I’ll be late.”

Matthias’ face burned and he leaned forward to capture her mouth with his, hands sliding down to grab her hips and tug Nina more toward him. Djel, she was incredible.

Her laughter made him laugh and they both pulled away. The kiss had been sour but nice, and he had the absurd thought that he would love to kiss her good morning every day, morning breath and all.

“See?” Nina asked, fingers folding across his mouth. “This is what I mean.”

Matthias sighed, leaning his head down to rest against the tops of her breasts, inhaling the rose water scent of her. With one hand, he tapped around behind him for his phone. With his other hand, he tugged her closer. “Well, we have a few minutes, don’t we? No point in waking up so early if we can’t enjoy it.”

Her real smile was back, and Matthias was loathe to kiss it away. “You’re a smart man, Helvar.”

“Don’t tell anyone,” he said, kissing her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**2.**  

“Can you come pick me up?”

Nina didn’t waste time with pleasantries. No, not when Inej was bleeding beside her, both of them pressed tight into an alley in the Barrel. The damn Dime Lions had caught Inej off guard because of her, and if Inej died--if she--

_Relax. Focus. You tried to call Kaz and he didn’t answer._ But Matthias had, on the second ring. He’d sounded so tired, but now his voice was stiff and formal. “Where are you? What’s wrong?” Nina heard movement in the background; it sounded like he was getting into a car. The familiar sound of an engine rumbling to life confirmed that.

Nina leaned around the side of the dumpster they hid behind, but Inej spoke before she could figure out where they were. “Tell him we’ll meet him at the docks.”

“Inej,” Nina hissed, but relayed the information. “We can’t walk there right now. _You_ can’t.”

“It’s five minutes away,” the Suli woman said, her dark eyes fierce despite the pain clouding them. Fuck, Kaz would be so angry when he found out. Angry at Nina, at Inej; he’d probably burn the Barrel to the ground to smoke out wherever Pekka Rollins was hiding. Him and every other Dime Lion.

“Nina?” Matthias said, the undercurrent of fear in his voice snapping her back to reality.

“The docks,” she said, knowing how it sounded. Shit, what would she tell _him?_ That they’d been mugged? It could work, but he was also a cop and Nina knew Matthias better than that. Maybe he would believe them, but maybe not. He might even recognize Inej.

“I’ll be there in twelve minutes,” he said, and she didn’t doubt it.

Nina helped Inej to her feet once she hung up the phone with Matthias. The smaller woman walked hunched forward, but to anyone else on the street she just looked sick or too drunk, two things that were very possible in the area. “Do you think Kaz will kill us?” Nina asked, trying to lighten the mood. She could see the huge warehouses surrounding the docks from where they were walking, but it seemed so far away.

“No,” Inej said lightly. “Though I doubt he’ll pay us.”

“Me, you mean.” Nina’s voice came out more annoyed than she intended. She quickly said, “He’s too afraid of you to dock you anything.”

“Right,” Inej laughed. The sound ended in a groan, her weight settling more firmly against Nina’s side as she slumped. “Sorry.”

“Don’t ever be sorry,” Nina said, the force of her words cutting through the smile on her face. Inej shouldn’t be sorry, _Nina_ should be. If she had just paid more attention. Not that it mattered now; Inej wouldn’t blame Nina, and Kaz would probably be a bastard to the both of them either way.

By the time they made it to the docks, they were both panting again, and Matthias’ new car sat quietly along the road. The second he saw them coming, he was out of the car and speed-walking toward them. “Nina, are you...” his eyes found Inej, who smiled at him pleasantly. “...alright?”

“Fine.” Nina kept walking, passing him and making her way briskly to the backseat. “We’re fine. Can you take me to a--” she looked at Inej, who shook her head. “--to our apartment?” Nina grit her teeth as she helped Inej into the backseat.

When she straightened up to look at Matthias, his eyes were worried. “Are you hurt?” He asked, reaching out to rest his big hand on the side of her face. His thumb traced over her mouth, where she knew she had a split lip. It stung at the brush of his skin, but she didn’t flinch. She did smile, which hurt more, and rested her own hand against his.

Matthias was such a good guy. Such a damn good guy, and here she was lying to him. “I’m fine. The guys tried to take our purses, but we’re tougher than we look.”

“You look plenty tough,” Matthias said, leaning forward to press his mouth against her forehead. His chapped lips brought stubborn tears to her eyes, and not for the first time Nina wished she didn’t have to lie.

When he pulled back, she smiled and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m delicate as a flower.”

“A venus fly trap,” Matthias teased.

“I’m bleeding,” Inej intoned from the backseat. An apologetic look crossed her face as she took the two of them in, like she felt bad for breaking up their flirting. Nina glared.

“I thought you said it wasn’t bad?”

“It’s a minor cut. But still bloody. And these seats are fabric, Nina.”

With a lofty sigh, Nina pushed her way into the backseat--far too cramped--and let Matthias close the door behind her. When he got into the front and started to drive, Nina said, “Thanks for coming. I know it’s late.”

“I just got off work. Besides,” he looked at her in the rearview mirror. Her hands curled into fists. “I would come get you at any time.”

Nina didn’t say anything, nor did she meet Inej’s searching, curious gaze.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**3.**

The knock on her door was startling enough that Nina jumped, the wine in her glass sloshing over and onto her shirt. She glared at the red stain and then toward the door, mind racing as she tried to figure out what the _fuck_ was going on. Her phone cheerfully told her that it was two-thirty in the morning, and she had one more episode of her cooking show to watch and _someone was banging on her goddamn door._

Nina stood, more annoyed than wary as she made her way toward the door, leaning forward to peer into the peephole. She only saw a broad, green-shirted chest, but it was enough to tell her who banged on the door. Unlocking it, Nina wrenched the door open and said, “Can I _help you?”_

Matthias glared down at her, as if _she_ were the one annoying _him._ “We need to talk.”

“Oh, you’d like to chat now?” Nina asked, voice sweet. “I assumed we were done _chatting_ a few weeks ago since you haven’t returned my calls.” She tried not to let him see how much it bothered her. Nina didn’t love Matthias--it was way too early for that--but she liked him a lot. Knowing that he saw something in her that night he picked them up at the docks that he didn’t like stung a lot.

“May I come in?” Matthias looked over her shoulder, as if searching for Inej. He wouldn’t find her; she and Kaz were out doing the Saints knew what. The less Nina knew about illegal shit, the better. Still, she wouldn’t let him in just because he’d shown up out of the blue, no matter how nice that shirt fit or how much she actually wanted to. So instead of answering, Nina cocked her hip, filling the doorway a little more than she usually did, and stared.

“You work for Kaz Brekker.” It wasn’t a question. The heat in her that usually showed up around the same time Matthias did went cold at the words, and she moved aside in a rush to let him by, aware that she didn’t live in the best apartment building. Saying shit like that could get you in a lot of trouble if the wrong person heard.

The thing was, Nina _did_ work for Kaz. Kind of, at least. She’d worked with him more in college, when she needed money and he needed people. Mostly she did undercover stuff, finding out secrets and information that would help Kaz out, but she did it so rarely now that it barely counted as working for him. But Matthias wouldn’t see it that way. No, he would see it as working for a criminal. He would see it as illegal.

He stormed past her and into the living room of the apartment. Clutter filled most of the space--a lot of it Nina’s, though most of the books and empty teacups were Inej’s--but it didn’t matter. Matthias paced around it all and Nina leaned against the wall. She could see herself in the small, decorative mirrors on the far wall. She looked confident, relaxed, but didn’t feel it one bit. Yeah, she was pissed he found out, but she was more scared than anything. Matthias came from one of the toughest, most dedicated precincts Nina’s ever heard of. The Drüskelle weren’t the Ketterdam P.D., and he wasn’t some cop Kaz could buy off.

“Are you going to say anything?”

His voice pulled her from her thoughts. He stood still finally, arms tight across his chest. For the first time since she met him, Nina found herself afraid of the guy. _Should have ditched him when you found out he was a cop,_ she berated herself.

Should she lie? Denying knowing or working for Kaz didn’t seem smart. Matthias probably had files on the both of them, careful things he’d pulled together to link one of them to the other. What mistake had she made that lead him to that conclusion?

His hair, usually tied back in a tight bun fell half-out and messy around his ears. Some strands brushed his shoulders, his jaw. Nina wanted to reach out and push them back, or tug it all down. She wanted to go back to that night they first met. He’d called her beautiful and been such a gentleman. He’d been naive and an easy fucking mark.

“What do you want me to say, Matthias?” She couldn’t lie anymore. She would protect Kaz, Inej, and Jesper, but she wouldn’t lie to him about herself.

His face goes pale, eyes hard like he’s searching her for something. “It’s true, then?”

He started to pace again, running agitated fingers through his hair. The sight made Nina queasy. She stepped forward, arms loose at her side, and said, “Will you please just sit down? Talk to me--”

“You _lied to me!”_ He snapped. They were almost the same height, but he towered over her then. Saints, he looked so angry. Nina’s heart kicked up in her chest, beating so fast she was sure he heard it. She thought of all the pressure points she could hit right now, before he lashed out or grabbed her. Nina didn’t think he would--Matthias was too good a man for that--but she’d also never seen him this angry.

_You’ve only known him for five months,_ a voice in her head said. It sounded irritatingly like Kaz Brekker. _You don’t know what a Drüskelle will do to a girl like you._ And she _didn’t_ know. She didn’t want to find out. More than anything, Nina didn’t want to be afraid of him. Standing up a little straighter made Matthias move back, and Nina pointed a very red fingernail into his chest, snapping, “I barely _knew_ you! What, did you want me to tell you all of my deep, dark secrets? Explain to you why I went to Kaz, why I still help him out when he needs it? Use your fucking brain Matthias.”

“I wouldn’t...” he began, but all the anger seemed to drain from him as they both realized that he _would_ have done something. Matthias was a lot of things, but a bad cop he was not. Nina frowned but didn’t move, even as Matthias did. He slumped down onto the couch, propping his elbows up on jean-clad knees.

“What will you do now?” Nina asked. The words scraped against her throat. He would bring her in for questioning. He would throw her into Hellgate. His gaze when she met it was confused. Nina blinked. “Matthias?”

“I can’t _do_ anything,” Matthias said slowly, as if he were explaining something to someone very young. “I’m not a detective, nor am I working the Brekker case.”

The blood drained from Nina’s face. What the fuck was he talking about? “Then how...?”

“My old boss, Jarl Brum has investigated Brekker for years. He’s been trying to entice me to help him get information for the past few months, but I’ve denied. I don’t want to get involved in something like that. But he mentioned you and...well, I had to find out for myself.” He passed a hand over his face, the sound like sandpaper. Nina dropped onto the couch beside him, more shocked than anything.

She would have to tell Inej and Kaz about Brum, though she suspected Kaz already knew. He always seemed steps ahead of any game he played. Still, she didn’t quite understand what that meant for her and Matthias. She’d understand if he wanted to...well, if he didn’t want to see her again. It would hurt. Nina hadn’t wanted to be with someone that much in a long time, but she would get over it. If Nina was good at anything, it was being strong.

“Will you explain why?” His quiet voice pierced through her thoughts. Nina blinked, but didn’t look at him. Couldn’t look at him, because she didn’t want to see the disappointment in his eyes. She didn’t have to ask what he meant, either. Why did she work for Brekker. Why did she decide to sully herself that way.

“I needed money for school. I’m good at talking to people, seeing what they want and what they need so...so I just helped find out information for him. Little stuff.”

“That night with Inej,” Matthias began. “Were you working?”

Nina sighed. “Yes. But it was the first time in a really long time.”

They were both quiet for a moment. It stretched thin between them. “Were you working the night we met?”

Suddenly her eyes found his, because she needed him to know that _no_ he was not just some mark, not just someone Kaz told her to play. Nina didn’t like a lot of people, but she _really_ liked him. “Saints, Matthias, no. I swear, I didn’t know who you were before you sat down.” Her hand reached for his, and he let her take it. Calloused palms brushed against her own and Nina gripped it tight. “I’m sorry if I made you think that. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“I understand why,” he said. He squeezed her hand back. “And I won’t say anything.”

“Matthias, you--it’s your _job.”_

“My job has nothing to do with Kaz Brekker. And I wish yours wouldn’t either, but I won’t jeopardize you to make myself look good to the others at the precinct.”

She didn’t cry then, but her eyes did burn with tears. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I know,” he said. “ _I’m_ sorry I stormed in here like that. I thought you were playing games with me, but I should have known better. I _do_ know better. Brum just has this way of getting into my head.”

Nina nodded, scooting closer on the couch. Tentatively, she rested her head against his shoulder, fitting her body as much as she could against his side. She loved how big he was, how he made her feel small as he draped an arm across her shoulders. “Will you stay tonight?” She asked, when the silence and her exhaustion grew too much to ignore.

“If you’ll have me,” Matthias whispered, pressing a kiss to her hairline.

“Don’t be sappy,” Nina whispered back, but the dread that had seeped into her bones earlier had been replaced with something warm and content. Matthias wasn’t angry with her, he wasn’t going to rat on her. They would need to talk, a _lot_ but right now they could just be this: happy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**4.**

When he woke, a soft beeping met his ears. It wasn’t what brought him back to consciousness, but it was the first thing he noticed. Then, he registered voices--Nina’s and...he peered at the doorway and saw a tall figure in a dark jacket and a cane at his side. Neither of them noticed Matthias watching, and he couldn’t make anything they were saying, but he had other, more pressing concerns. Like where in the world was he?

The beeping noise to his right seemed like the best answer, and he realized it was a heart rate monitor, and that he felt numb in a good way that probably meant something bad. And then he felt Nina’s hand in his and he turned his head. His body did not seem like his own. What did they have him on?

“Hi there,” Nina whispered, scooting the chair she sat on closer. Both her hands closed around his, their claminess odd against his skin. _What was happening_ , he wanted to ask, but his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth in a very uncomfortable way.

Nina’s eyes widened and she turned slightly, pulling away only so she could grab a styrofoam cup with a straw and put it to his mouth. He sipped greedily, scowling when she pulled it away. “You’ll make yourself sick.”

“Where am I?” He croaked. His throat hurt.

“Hospital,” Nina answered, voice still quiet. A hospital? Matthias tried to recall what happened earlier that day, but all he could remember was a young Drüskelle boy, who--who had shot him, courtesy of Jarl Brum. He pat around his chest, wondering where-- _Djel._

The beeping beside him told Matthias his heart was beating quite fast. Nina shoved his hand back down to his side and snapped, “Really, Matthias? They had you in surgery for three hours, don’t go playing around like...like...” her voice trailed off, and when he rolled his head to look back at her, she was crying. The artificial light of the room made her look pale, almost sickly. The clock behind her told him it was very early in the morning.

“You should be sleeping.”

“Oh bite me,” Nina said through her tears, hands still tight around his own. “You almost died. I couldn’t let you wake up to see anything but my gorgeous face. Even if that meant missing sleep.”

“Little red bird,” he whispered, the words slipping out of his drugged mouth quicker than he could fumble for them. Distantly, his cheeks warmed. “Nina, you didn’t have to stay.”

Her full mouth, the mouth he has kissed hundreds of times, frowned at him. He wanted to tug the corners up, make her smile. His Nina. “I love you,” he said, because he did and because he almost died and because he wanted her, more than anything, not to cry.

It didn’t work. She wept more, pressing her forehead to their joined hands, shoulders shaking. He reached out with his free hand to card his fingers through her hair. They were clumsy, tangling in the strands, but he loved her and it was alright and they were going to be fine. Everything would be just fine.

He liked these drugs. They were also fine.

“Please don’t do that again,” Nina whispered eventually, once her tears had run dry. It could have been hours or minutes later; all he knew was that her eyes were the greenest he’d ever seen them. If that day had gone differently, he may not have ever seen them again.

“Brum wanted to hurt you. Put you in jail.” The words came out slow, but the familiar stirring of anger made him continue. “I would do it again a thousand times. I will always protect you, Nina.”

“You big dummy.” She kissed his hand again, then his mouth. “I love you too.”

He knew. She was missing sleep for him, after all. “Come to bed, Nina.”

“It’s a big snug. I’ll be fine here.” She smiled. “Go to sleep, Matthias. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“Forever?” He asked, eyelids already fluttering. She reached for something behind him and some of the lights in the room dimmed enough that they didn’t hurt his eyes. Matthias smiled.

He was almost asleep again when she whispered, “Sure, Matthias. Forever.”

 

 

 

 

**5.**

“Matthias.”

He blinked, disoriented for a moment. Then Nina tugged on his hair some more and he lifted his head, taking in the expression on her face. The TV light danced off the plane of her face. He caught a mixture of annoyance and pleading with every flash of blue light. “What is it?” He asked pushing up on his elbows, eyes searching the rest of her for an issue.

The large bulge of her belly made him smile. “Is she keeping you awake?” he asked, brushing a hand across the red fabric covering the baby bump. _Only a few more weeks, sweet girl._

“ _He,”_ Nina snapped. “Is fine. His mother is hungry, though.”

Matthias sat up more, taking in the time--3:47. He had to be at work in six hours, but it seemed so distant, and Nina hadn’t been able to sleep well the past few weeks. If eating something ridiculous would help her sleep, or at least ease her annoyance a little, Matthias would help. “What do you want?”

“They have these chips,” Nina said excitedly. “That are waffle flavoured. Inej got some the other day and they were so good. Will you get me those?”

Waffle chips? It was better than the pickles and whipped cream she ate at the beginning of her second trimester. “Of course. Where are they?”

Nina freezes, eyes going distant. “I don’t know. Inej just said she got them at the gas station.”

Djel, there were many gas stations in Ketterdam.

“You don’t have to go,” Nina shrugged, but he could see the disappointment in the set of her shoulders, could hear it in the sound of her voice. “I’ll eat something here.”

“No,” he shook his head, already slipping from the bed to search for his pants. “I’ll go. Sleep if you can. If not, I’ll be home shortly.”

He tugged on a pair of jogging pants, grimacing at the gravy stain on the leg but decided it was not worth it to look for another pair. When he turned back to Nina, she was smiling in a way that meant she wanted something else. Matthias narrowed his eyes. “Yes?”

“If you see any of that yummy black licorice...”

“I’ll grab you two packs.”

“My sweet guy,” she murmured, holding out her arms and motioning him close. When he was near enough, she grabbed onto his ears and tugged him gently forward, pressing her mouth to his. He melted into the kiss, opening his mouth, tongue meeting hers briefly before she pulled back. Her lips glistened, pink and moist in the semi-darkness of their room. “Come back to me, Matthias.”

“ _Nina,”_ he said fondly. “I’ll be twenty minutes,” he assured her, giving her one last kiss before rushing from the room. Her laughter followed him out, loud and happy. The sound was enough to remind him _why_ he did these things for Nina. Why he woke up in the middle of the night to rub kinks out of her back, or kiss her, or get her ridiculous snacks. If Matthias could have predicted the future, he would have never seen it coming. Ketterdam was meant to be a pit stop for him, but Matthias never expected it to turn out as well as it did. He loved the woman in the bedroom, the woman carrying his child, the woman who loved him as much as he did her.

Outside, the cold wind pierced his jacket. It reminded him of Fjerda. For the first time since he’d come to Ketterdam, snow sat untouched and pure white atop the cars of the apartment’s parking lot. It looked beautiful, magical. He was loathe to ruin the scene, but upstairs Nina waited, warm and ready to welcome him home.

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
